South Kensington, London, 1953. Mrs Harriet Wallis is found guilty of the murder of her husband, Cecil, and becomes the second-last woman in England to be hanged. From this dramatic beginning, the story moves back a year and, detail by detail, the events that culminate in the demise of a wealthy and happy family are revealed. It was one year earlier that the new nanny arrived, a woman who is still recovering from the death of her entire family when a V2 rocket struck their East London home. It was a year ago, too, that the Wallises received a visit from police officers investigating shady dealings at Cecil's shipping firm, casting doubts on Cecil's reputation and traditional code of behaviour. It was a year ago that Harriet's life is first thrown into turmoil by the reappearance of a man she did not expect to ever see again and for whose safety she is gravely concerned. Set in a post-war period when a well-to-do British family's existence - both outside and inside the house - is ruled by a strict set of conventions, The Second-Last Woman in England explores the depth of emotions that are always there in every family but rarely surface. And what happens when they do.
'Joel is particularly good at depicting the kind of small, casual cruelties family members can inflict on one another' Sydney Morning Herald
'As well as being able to create a distinct sense of place ... Maggie Joel has a wicked sense of humour' The Age
